The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Gender Equality, Social Development and Family Affairs will conduct public hearings on three petitions received by the National Assembly with regard to legalising abortion in Namibia.

The hearings, which will take place from 31 May until 02 June in the Zambezi, Ohangwena and Kavango regions, will deliberate on whether the current Abortion and Sterilisation Act No 2 of 1975 should be reformed.

The Information Officer at Parliament, Rafael Hangula in a statement on Monday said the petitions were received from various interest groups in 2020 and referred to the committee for further consideration.

Hangula said the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economics and Public Administration is also planning to go on oversight visits to Inland Revenue regional offices and customs entry points on the same dates.

This committee will visit the Oshana, Ohangwena and Erongo regions.

“The purpose of their visits is to assess the efficiency of taxation, revenue and customs duties collection and to look at the Namibia Revenue Agency’s performance,” he said.

The standing committee will also be briefed on capital as well as infrastructure and accommodation projects.

Hangula further said the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs will be undertaking oversight visits to community courts in the Kunene Region next week.

This will be a continuation of a series of visits to community courts which started in 2019, to assess the effectiveness of community courts as well as challenges faced by traditional authorities.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency